Category Sci-Fi

Dec 28 2019

Best Of The 2010s Decade

As this decade draws to a close very soon, it’s time to quickly look back at all the wonderful films and TV shows that came out in the 2010s. Like many other decades, there were many genuine classics and game changing offerings that will stay with us for years to come. This best of the 2010s post will only list the top ten shows/films for various categories due to time constraints. Feel free to pipe in with your own lists because after all, these lists are subjective and part of the fun with these lists is comparing them to your own!

Best Science Fiction Films

1. Guardians of the Galaxy

2. The new Planet of the Apes trilogy

(A. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes B. Rise of the Planet of the Apes C. War for the Planet of the Apes)

3. Edge of Tomorrow

4. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

5. Ready Player One

6. Gravity

7. Interstellar

8. Pacific Rim

9. Jurassic World

10. Mad Max: Fury Road

Best Fantasy Films

1. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

2. The Shape of Water

3. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

4. Trollhunter

5. The Jungle Book

6. Doctor Strange

7. Shazam!

8. Pete’s Dragon

9. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice

10. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

Best Horror Films

1. The Cabin in the Woods

2. It

3. Hereditary

4. The Babadook

5. A Quiet Place

6. It Follows

7. V/H/S/2

8. Get Out

9. The Witch

10. Train to Busan

Best Animated Films

1 Spider-Man: Into the Spider Verse

2 The Lego Movie

3 Rise of the Guardians

4. Toy Story 4

5 The How to Train Your Dragon trilogy

(A. How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, B. How to Train Your Dragon 2, C. How to Train Your Dragon)

6. Big Hero 6

7. Zootopia

8. Kung Fu Panda 2

9. Coco

10. Toy Story 3

Best Superhero/Comic Book Films

1. Avengers: Infinity War

2. Logan

3. Captain America: The Winter Solider

4. Captain America: Civil War

5. Avengers: Endgame

6. The Avengers

7. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse

8. Man of Steel

9. Joker

10. X-Men: Days of Futures Past

Best Overall Films

1. Avengers: Infinity War

2. Guardians of the Galaxy

3. Logan

4 .The new Planet of the Apes trilogy

5. Captain America: The Winter Soldier

6. Captain America: Civil War

7. Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

8. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

9. Edge of Tomorrow

10. The Cabin in the Woods

expanse cast

Best Science Fiction TV Shows

1. The Expanse

2 Westworld

3. The Handmaid’s Tale

4. Star Trek: Discovery

5. The Mandalorian

6. Stranger Things

7. Black Mirror

8. 12 Monkeys

9. Defiance

10. The Orville

Best Horror TV Shows

1. The Walking Dead

2. Stranger Things

3. Ash Vs. Evil Dead

4. The Strain

5. Penny Dreadful

6. Being Human

7. Constantine

8. American Horror Story

9. The Haunting of Hill House

10. Castle Rock

Game of Thrones

Best Fantasy TV Shows

1 Game of Thrones

2. Undone

3. Carnival Row

4. The Witcher

5. The Legend of Korra

6. Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance

7. Being Human

8. Russian Doll

9. Adventure Time

10. Outlander

Star-Wars-Rebels-Season-4-Banner

Best Animated TV Shows

1. Star Wars Rebels

2. The Legend of Korra

3. Rick and Morty

4. Young Justice

5. Undone

6 Tron: Uprising

7. Love, Death & Robots

8. Primal

9. Adventure Time

10. Harley Quinn

Best Superhero/Comic Book Shows

1. Daredevil

2. Doom Patrol

3. The Boys

4. Watchmen

5. Titans

6. Legion

7. Jessica Jones

8. Legends of Tomorrow

9. The Flash

10. Arrow

Best Overall TV Shows

1. Game of Thrones

2. The Walking Dead

3. The Expanse

4. Daredevil

5. Stranger Things

6. Westworld

7. The Handmaid’s Tale

8. Black Mirror

9 12 Monkeys

10. Doom Patrol

Dec 22 2019

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Is A Fast, Emotional & Messy Conclusion To The Star Wars Saga

Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is the latest and supposedly final Star Wars film dealing with the Skywalkers is now out. As with recent Star Wars films it is already a divisive film among fans and critics alike, who either praise it or deride it for too many reasons. Trying to do an objective review is very difficult for a film like Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker and that is because of the film franchise’s unique way of permeating throughout time. It is all too easy to offer an opinion on the latest Star Wars film, but come back a year or five later and anyone’s opinion will change.

Look at the prequel films. For the longest time they were so loathed by many fans that George Lucas swore off doing anymore films and could have been a reason why he just up and sold the property and Lucasfilm to Disney. Let them take the heat for the films and boy, are they doing so now. The derision tossed at the Disney-era films is so severe that the prequels are now viewed on a more favorable light by many. The one merit pointed out with the prequels is that at least they had a cohesive vision: the fall of Anakin Skywalker and the Jedi. This cohesiveness and vision are obviously missing with the sequel trilogy, which is a handicap the last film in the sequel trilogy had to face.

As many know, director J.J. Abrams created the template for a new trilogy with Star Wars: The Force Awakens in 2015. It was expected that the director of the next film, Rian Johnson, would take the themes and plot threads and continue them. Instead, Rian Johnson went off on his own tangent and did a deconstruction of the Star Wars films with Star Wars: The Last Jedi and the reaction was disastrous, divisive, and controversial.

Seeing the hatred Star Wars: The Last Jedi received, Lucasfilm tapped J.J. Abrams to come back and do a course correction. Did it work? Honestly, that is hard to say. On a personal level, to myself, the film was awe inspiring and emotional. It moves with a fast-paced momentum that reeks of desperateness that works! Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker is a satisfying return to the Star Wars that we all loved that is a heartfelt tribute.

But objectively, there are faults with the film and they come from Abrams and Lucasfilm’s thankless task of trying to undo the damage The Last Jedi did. The first half of the film is spent fixing and retconning characters and developments from The Last Jedi and at the same time it has to tell its own story. This resulted in a film that is constantly moving without a moment to breathe. Plot A occurs and it immediately leads to Plot B, then Plot C happens. The characters jump from planet to planet at a dizzying pace in a frantic scavenger hunt. Along the way, multitude characters, new and old, pop in and out to service the plot. While all this is going on Abrams also has the unenviable task of working in footage of the late Carrie Fisher as General Leia Organa into the film in a way that works. Thankfully he succeeded, and with the overall job of cramming in all the plot points and resolving any threads. It was not easy and quite messy, but somehow it worked.

Thankfully, by the time the second half of the film commences, it is allowed to slow down and proceed at a smoother pace. By this time the emotions do get to you with all the fan services. There are many of those, which include call backs to all past eight films and while they could turn off some viewers, Star Wars fans will be delighted. But in this case, the callbacks are warranted. This is the final film in the trilogy and it was supposed to conclude the expansive story that began with Star Wars Episode One: The Phantom Menace. One element from Episode One that is revisited is the evil machinations of Palpatine (Ian McDiarmid). Some spoilers will start.

Continue reading →

Dec 16 2019

Watching The Watchmen

HBO’s sequel to the famous DC comic book mini-series Watchmen has just concluded its nine-episode run, and now it is time to talk about the series. Spoilers will follow after this for both the original comic book and this TV series.

Watchmen was one of the most influential and revolutionary comic books that ever came out. Co-created by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, the tale was a complex one taking place in an alternate world where superheroes existed since the mid-20th century but were unpowered except for one incredible exception. Based loosely on Captain Atom, Dr. Manhattan was a nuclear scientist who was in an atomic accident and gained the powers of a god. With his existence, history radically changed with Richard Nixon still the U.S. president in 1985, Vietnam conquered by the U.S., and the world is on the brink of a nuclear holocaust. One of the other superheroes, Ozymandias engineers a complex scheme to unite humanity by creating a hoax of an extra-dimensional alien incursion. This works, but at the cost of three million people.

The just-concluded TV series takes place now in 2019, decades after the alien incursion (which links it closer to the comic book unlike the 2009 movie adaptation that changed Ozymandias’ plot) and America has changed just as radically again.

Robert Redford is the U.S. president and like Nixon, overstayed his terms in office, having been inaugurated in 1992. Now, the U.S. is struggling to become a liberal utopia, with African-Americans eligible for reparations and white supremacist terrorist groups fighting against the woke society they’re forced to live in.

Watchmen takes place in Tulsa, Oklahoma and centers on Angela Abar (Regina King), a supposedly retired cop who hails from the 51st state of Vietnam and moonlights as the illegal vigilante Sister Night. Her friend, Tulsa’s police chief, Judd Crawford (Don Johnson), is killed under mysterious circumstances and her investigation unravels a complex plot. This involves Dr. Manhattan (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II), who is not on Mars as he was supposed to be, Ozymandias (Jeremy Irons), the barbaric architect of world peace in an unusual exile, an elderly Will Reeves (Louis Gossett Jr.), Crawford’s supposed killer, Lady Trieu (Hong Chau), the head of a powerful organization, and FBI agent Laurie Blake (Jean Smart) aka the former Silk Spectre II.

Even though on the surface, Watchmen is about superheroes it really isn’t. Like the comic book it is based on, the TV series is a very complex, non-linear tale involving deeply emotional characters and examines the strange, yet somehow familiar world. The world building is delightful with plenty of Easter eggs and references to the original comic book and tidbits to how different this world is compared to ours. But like any worthwhile story, Watchmen sticks with the plot and characters and slowly hooks in viewers as it unveils more and more jaw dropping revelations.

Starting with the fact that Crawford was a white supremacist to the revelation that the very first superhero was a bi-sexual African-American acting out on frustration to the hidden identity of Dr. Manhattan and his relationship with Angela Abar, Watchmen is a wonderfully presented, worthwhile sequel to the classic comic book. However, it does not seem like a comic book brought to life (a flaw with the movie adaptation), but as its own medium. One could complain that by not feeling like a comic book, this version of Watchmen seems like it was just a sci-fi story that stuck in references to the comic book to allow it to be greenlit. That is open to debate, but nevertheless the product is exemplary.

It is fairly easy to get drawn into the series from the beginning as unanswered peculiarities are shown, such as squid showers and background images which show that 9/11 never happened. However, several episodes are devoted to the origin of several characters, the standouts being “This Extraordinary Being”, which chronicles the tragic back story of Hooded Justice, and “A God Walks Into Abar”, which explores the temporal complexities of Dr. Manhattan while being a love story at the same time.

Much of Watchmen may be upsetting for some due to its subject matter about race relations, but many episodes are very powerful and compelling. While it is not exactly like its comic book predecessor, Watchmen is a worthy sequel and expansion to that comic book. It should be enjoyed by comic book, alternate history and sci-fi fans and others wanting something different with live-action superhero presentations.

 

Dec 9 2019

The Greatest Marvel Hallmark Ornaments

marvel hallmark ornaments

Christmas or Holiday ornaments based on popular IPs have populated Christmas trees for quite some time. Along with the Star Wars and Star Trek ornaments, Hallmark has produced many different ornaments based on superhero properties. One of their most successful lines are ornaments based on Marvel Comics superheroes, whether featured in comic books or on film. Here is a list of the greatest Marvel Hallmark ornaments released by the company.

potted groot ornament

10. Potted Groot (2015):

Sweet, adorable Groot as seen in his seedling form at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy makes for one cute ornament! Although this Groot does not dance, the ornament features the song “I Want You Back”, which Potted Groot dances to behind Drax’s back.

9. Hulk: Thor: Ragnarok (2017):

The Hulk in his full gladiator regalia as he appears in Thor: Ragnarok, is one of the most colorful and intimidating Marvel Hallmark ornaments. The figure easily captures the enraged mood of the gladiator Hulk as he is ready to pounce on his next victim/opponent.

8. The Avengers: Thor, Captain America, and Iron Man (2012):

These were three separate ornaments featuring the three superheroes from The Avengers. They could be hung separately in a Christmas tree or combined at their bases to created a cool diorama. Plus, this is one of the best Iron Man ornaments.

7. Team Captain America (2016):

The year that Captain America: Civil War featured to opposing separate ornaments, Captain America and Iron Man. While the Iron Man ornament is well crafted, the Captain America ornament is hands-down the best one based on the star-spangled hero. Other Captain America ornaments usually have him in a stationary pose. This one, however, captures him in powerful fighting action.

6. Iron Patriot (2013):

The patriotic red, white and blue colors on a re-branded War Machine from Iron Man 3, make this ornament stand out so vividly. Never mind that the film divided fans, it cannot be denied this ornament is beautifully done.

5. A New Breed of Superheroes (2006):

Actually, this ornament is a collection of mini-ornaments featuring classic Marvel heroes that can be combined at their bases into one. This allowed one to either use all six heroes (Spider-Man, Wolverine, the Hulk, Captain America, the Thing, and Iron Man) together or separately. It’s a highly sought-after collector’s item.

4. The Infinity Gauntlet (2019):

The fearsome weapon that Thanos used to wipe out half of all life in the universe as seen in Avengers: Infinity War, is a powerful ornament indeed. Featuring multi-colored lights emanating from the Infinity Stones, this gauntlet fits surprisingly well in a lit-up Christmas tree.

3. Spider-Man and Green Goblin (2010):

This ornament featuring a mighty battle between Spidey and his arch nemesis, the Green Goblin, stood out from other Spider-Man ornaments just for its concept of having a hero fighting an opponent. The two figures are dynamically posed which helped make the ornament one of the very best ones produced by Hallmark. The company should continue this idea with other Spider-Man villains; imagine what one featuring Doctor Octopus would be like!

2. Comic Book Heroes #3 – Incredible Hulk (2010): 

This Marvel ornament was part of an ingenious ornament series from Hallmark. On one side was a 3D figure on a background that recreated a famous comic book. In fact, the ornament was a mini-comic book reprint of the famous issue. In this case, The Incredible Hulk #181, which is renowned for having the first full appearance of Wolverine. It’s too bad, Hallmark discontinued the series after just four ornaments (the final one being the following year’s The Avengers #4), there are so many other classic and iconic comic book covers the series could have recreated.

first spidey ornament

1. Spider-Man (1996): 

There have been many wonderful Spider-Man Hallmark ornaments. Most of them had our favorite Web-Slinger in wild and spindly poses that accurately represented Marvel’s most popular superhero. But the very first ornament is still the best one. It’s so elegantly posed so that this mini-Spider-Man looks so natural hanging from a tree branch. The strings attached to his hands aid with the illusion that he is swinging around a Christmas tree with its lights that could easily stand in for the bright lights of a city.

Honorable Mentions:

The following are pretty terrific Marvel Hallmark ornaments that are worth mentioning and hunting down on Ebay or elsewhere:

A New Kind of Hero: Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017); Black Panther (2018); Captain America: Avengers: Endgame (2019); Comic Book Heroes #1 – Amazing Fantasy #15 (2008); Comic Book Heroes #4 – The Avengers #4 (2011); Deadpool (2017); Groot and Rocket (2018); Hulk Smash! (2014); Iron Man (2008); Iron Spider (2019); Slinging and Swinging (Spider-Man, 2016); Spidey Swings Into Action (2018); Thanos (2019); Thor: Thor: Ragnarok (2017); Venom (2016); Web-Slinging Wonder: The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)

José Soto

Nov 29 2019

The Mandalorian Returns Star Wars To Its Space Western Roots

mandalorian poster

The Star Wars franchise is many things; a space opera, a retelling of ancient myths and societal archetypes, an allegory of political and current events. But one thing the very first Star Wars film was noted for was being a space western. This aspect has been revered by fans for decades but the films have moved away from its space western roots aside from the last Star Wars film, Solo: A Star Wars Story. But now, Star Wars firmly embraces its space western roots with its first live-action TV show, The Mandalorian.

The new streaming show on Disney+ stars Pedro Pascal as the titular character, a mysterious bounty hunter with no name (actually he is called Mando fleetingly in one episode) who dons the same suit of high-tech armor worn by the villainous Boba Fett seen in the original films. Unlike that bounty hunter, the Mandalorian has a certain warrior code he lives by. The Mandalorian takes place five years after the events of Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi, and the Galactic Empire has fallen. It takes place in the lawless Outer Rim Territories which are rife with criminals, loners and other desperados. When The Mandalorian begins, the title character callously hunts down his prey without mercy and speaks very little as he strolls into seedy alien bars.

Werner Herzog Client

He is hired by a mysterious Client (Werner Herzog), once affiliated with the Empire, for an assignment to capture, dead or alive, a fifty-year-old target on another planet. After a Wild West-type shootout with guards in a remote town, the bounty hunter finds out that the target is actually a cute and adorable infant child of Jedi Master Yoda’s species. Already the Internet is flooded with images and memes of this cuddly Baby Yoda. Come on and give us the toys and plushies of this charming baby already!

Baby Yoda

The moment he encounters Baby Yoda, the Mandalorian appears to be torn over the child’s welfare. He takes to the speechless infant who already displays a great affinity with the Force. Baby Yoda is also is wanted by the Client for unknown but obvious nefarious purposes, so the bounty hunter’s protectiveness of the baby puts him at odds with the galaxy. What is so remarkable about this development and the show itself is that we never see the Mandalorian’s face, it is always hidden behind a helmet. Yet, with few words and Pascal’s subtle performance, the bounty hunter displays deep character. Maybe it’s because he sounds a lot like Clint Eastwood from those spaghetti westerns, maybe it’s because his expressionless visor forces us to read into how the bounty hunter is feeling or what he is thinking. It could be that his reluctance to allow any harm to come to Baby Yoda lets us know that he is more dimensional than the more famous Boba Fett. This is why the character and the Disney+ show itself has taken everyone by storm. Continue reading →